Dominic Raab

Mr Raab, who was fired as foreign secretary, was heavily criticised during the fall of Afghanistan. He remained on holiday in Crete during the period the Taliban came to power.

The 47-year-old, who is a qualified solicitor, was educated at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, Amersham, Oxford and Cambridge universities.

He began his career as a business lawyer at Linklaters, working on project finance, international litigation and competition law. He also spent time on secondments at Liberty and in Brussels advising on EU and WTO law.

Mr Raab later worked at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office between 2000 and 2006 on a range of issues from investor protection to war crimes policy.

Mr Buckland, MP for Swindon South, was called to the bar in 1991, where his mixed practice consisted of criminal and planning law. He took silk in 2014, upon joining David Cameron’s government as solicitor general. He became justice secretary in 2019.

In July, he told a dinner for judges that his second anniversary in the job would be “relatively rare for a modern lord chancellor”.

Derek Sweeting QC, chair of the Bar Council, said: “The Bar Council has worked closely with [Mr Buckland] and the Ministry of Justice during his time in office. We are grateful for his willingness, as a former practising barrister, to work collaboratively and listen to the legal professions.”

Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “With the rule of law and access to justice firmly in the spotlight, and with the spending review on the horizon, we hope the new lord chancellor will play a key role in advocating for sustained investment across the entire justice system.”

“I would also like to thank Robert Buckland QC for his service to the justice system during an extremely challenging time,” she added.